The Break-In!

This morning my mom called to say that there was a break-in at A Grand Yarn last night. She and my dad were awakened by a phone call from the alarm company just after 2:00 am. They rushed down to the store and met with the police, who had arrived just a couple of minutes after the alarm sounded. Someone had broken through the glass of the front door and walked in through the hole. Apparently there was glass all over the place, partly from the force of the breaking and partly from being tracked in by the burglar. After the police finished their work, my parents were left at the store with a busted-open front door. So my dad ran home and cut a piece of plywood to cover the opening. That meant my mom had to hang out alone at 3:00 am in a shop that she couldn't lock. She doesn't even like to be there by herself at 7:00 pm. Anyway, my dad arrived with the wood and screwed it on so they were able to go home and go to bed. Which leads me to the question: "What do you do if you're in a similar situation but you don't have stacks of plywood and a saw at home?" I still haven't figured this out.

Still, in all of this there are several pieces of good news. First, everyone is fine. Second, the burglar was apparently just looking for money, of which there was little (we only leave a bit of change in the drawer at night). So very little was taken. Third, aside from the front door being completely busted, there wasn't any vandalism. So in this week of Thanksgiving, there are indeed things to be thankful for.

Of course, we're saddened that this happened. Burglaries are simply scary and make you feel violated. My reaction this morning was "It's so mean," which seems like a measly response to a crime. But it feels mean, doesn't it? At the same time, we've managed to have some laughs about the situation. This morning when I was retelling everything to Andrew, I described how Mom said that the person must have used an incredible amount of force for the glass to fly as far as it did (all over the models sitting on the front table and even into the tiered copper yarn holder up next to the desk). So Andrew said, "What could they have used that would do that?" We both thought for a second, and as I was saying, "A crowbar," Andrew said in all seriousness, "A log." A log?! I howled and gave him a hard time about his battering ram scenario: "So are you imagining them shouting 'Heave ho! Heave ho!'?" It's so angry mob and blazing torches. He was a good sport about his silly answer.* And in the interest of full disclosure, I did admit to him that I, too, had imagined a battering ram for a split second.

Anyway, it was quite an eventful and unexpected early morning at A Grand Yarn, one that I hope will not be repeated. But everyone is safe and sound, and the store will be open for business as usual on Tuesday morning.

*As he was just a few minutes ago when he prepared himself a salad and seemed confused about the Craisins. He admitted that he had thought that Craisins were a raisin-cranberry hybrid and had been wondering for a long time how they cross-bred them. (By the way, he did give me permission to write about both these funny moments. But I'm also to remind readers that he has a Ph.D. Just not in forensics or agriculture.) :)